Raging Storm
by SkyflowerWarriors
Summary: {BOOK 2 FOR DARK ECHO} "The storm has come! Battles between good and evil, the light and the dark...the end is almost here."
1. Prologue

**We're back with book two for Dark Echo! By the way, if you haven't read the first, then read it RIGHT AWAY! (unless you want to have spoilers and have no idea what's going on) Also, I want to give a huge thank you to the people who have reviewed, read, and followed Dark Echo. I really appreciate it. So without further ado, here's Raging Storm!**

Looking at the twinkling stars at night now, it all seems normal. However, from a StarClan cat's point of view, they seem chaotic and out of place. Nothing feels the same anymore. After the Harmony Stone was broken by the twenty-first echo...StarClan cats began disappearing, the landscape distorted, and tension rising. Cats who were once friends became mortal enemies, with allegiances torn everywhere.

For Silverheart, however, things were even worse.

She was one of the few who had to carry the burden of knowing the source of the discord-the breaking of the Harmony Stone.

The only other cat who knew was Flame the Peacemaker. The ginger tom was the one who told her about the warning of the twenty-first echo who would bring on the Final Battle of Fate, who would break the Harmony Stone, and who would also be tested like no other.  
Tension was being rubbed off on the cats of StarClan from the breaking of the precious stone, which kept the balance from the light and the dark and prevented the Final Battle of Fate and possible peace or eternal evil.

The silver she-cat knew that things were far worse in the mortal world. She had been collecting information on the twenty-first echo ever since she was born, ever since the first echo began their quest to stop Darkness. Echopaw would have to carry the burdens of all cats, and Silverheart knew this wouldn't be easy.

The young purple-eyed she-cat was strong, but in these circumstances...it seemed like Echopaw would soon be blocked by new responsibilities.

A sudden rustle from the bushes behind her interrupted her thoughts, and Silverheart immediately went into a fighting stance, hissing ferociously.

The all-too-familiar ginger head popped out, eyes wide with fear after seeing Silverheart's aggression. "Silverheart, did you think that I was an enemy?"

She rolled her eyes as she relaxed her position. "Flame, you know that everyone's on edge now thanks to the Harmony Stone being broken. It's kind of inevitable now. No one's safe from Darkness' wrath, not even StarClan!"

The Peacemaker spoke in an exasperated tone. "Of course I know that!" Flame huffed impatiently. "Can you _please_ just tell me where the Moonhill is?"

Silverheart couldn't help but to laugh at the tom's stupidity. "Oh come on, Flame, you have been here for centuries longer than me and you don't remember yourself? You've got to be kidding me!"

The Peacemaker lowered his head in embarrassment. "Silverheart, please tell me where the Moonhill is," he mumbled, aghast as he stepped down to take a drink of water from a nearby stream. "You know with being here so long my memory loses its train of thought from time to time."

She stopped laughing. "Flame, just tell me why you need directions," She meowed, tilting her head innocently. "Just out of plain curiosity."

Silverheart stopped talking to listen to Flame's explanation. "I need to send an important classified message to Echopaw."

The she-cat nodded, showing she was listening. Vague, but it was better than nothing. Silverheart suddenly got an idea. "Just so you know, Flame, if you're going to tell her anything that involves rigorous activity for her, I'd go against it."

The Peacemaker's obliviousness got in the way of his good judgement yet again. "What, why?"

Silverheart facepawed. "Well, with the things that are going on between her and Breezenight, I don't know..."

Flame's eyes rounded with horror and he nearly choked on his mouthful of water. "Silverheart!" He growled angrily as the silver she-cat laughed. "You know that's probably not going to happen until a while yet. And how did you even know Breezepaw's warrior name? He didn't have his ceremony yet."

The deceased IceClan cat rolled her eyes again. Sometimes Flame could just be so oblivious sometimes, and today was probably one of his oblivious days. "You know I can't wait until the actual thing happens. I checked all available sources."

"Of course you did." The rather annoyed Peacemaker seemed upset. "Can you tell me directions now instead of random gossip?"

Silverheart smiled. "Definitely." Looking at the vast expanse of distorted sky above, she pointed directions with her paw. "Go north until you see a quarry, then head a steady path facing northwest. Be careful of sharp rocks," she warned. "We may be omnipotent now, but we still can feel pain!"

Flame grinned. "Your sense of humor has never changed, Silverheart," he grunted, and the Peacemaker padded away.

"Good luck, Flame," the she-cat whispered softly. "Hopefully one day StarClan will be restored back to normal and some kind of peace will be restored."

The tension still clung on high in the air after Silverheart walked back to StarClan's version of the IceClan camp. Unfortunately, down below the heroes from down below were in a tight situation themselves. Despite that even if Darkness would be defeated, what about the rest of his army? Or the nuisance of those Twolegs? There would always be that shade of evil, but it can't be there without its bright light of good.


	2. Battle ensues

Everything and everyone was tensed up, ready to fight as the cat made the first step. Of course, a clumsy, arrogant young NightClan apprentice hurled himself at a Dark Warrior, and it led to the four Clan leaders to yowl the battle cry. Screeches erupted from all of the cats as blood sprayed on the sacred Gathering grounds.

Echopaw found herself battling a Dark Warrior slightly older than her, his fangs bared. The dark she-cat dodged his heavy blows-with remembering Alpha's saying that she overcommits-and then roughly bit his shoulder when he was attempting to recover. Yowling with pain, the Dark Warrior limped away from her fearfully.

Looking around frantically for Breezepaw, she saw the green-eyed tabby tom about to land the death blow on a familiar Dark Warrior. _Alder_.

"No!" The dark she-cat screeched with horror, and she immediately tackled Breezepaw without thinking.

Through all of the chaos, he growled angrily, "Why did you do that?! It would mean one less Dark Warrior to worry about."

She darted her eyes pointedly to Alder, who was cowering before them. Breezepaw nodded with understanding, and ran off to fight another Dark Warrior.

Before Echopaw could go back to the fighting, she felt a cold presence near her and realized that Darkness was staring at her amidst all of the chaos.

Echopaw gasped in shock as the chaotic battle scene before her was paused; vicious, war-hungry expressions plastered on the cats' faces gave her gut a feeling of unease.

"Echo, you don't understand," Darkness cackled. "We can join forces as father and daughter and rule this world... _together._ If not, I'm sure your brother will be much more compliant..."

 _"Never,"_ she spat angrily, the hatred purely part of the words she spoke. "I'll never join you, much less ever be proud to be called your _daughter."_

The spirit stiffened, and the dark she-cat swore that she saw hurt in Darkness's malicious eyes. However, it only lasted for a second before turning back to its icy, emotionless stare.

"Fine. Leave it by your choice to watch your Clanmates die."

The battle then resumed automatically, with more and more blood being spilled on the sacred grounds of the Gathering.

A screech erupted Echopaw's thoughts and caused her to avert her eyes to her opponent for a second. What she saw was horrendous: a young apprentice covered in blood and scratches on the ground, dead.

She ran as far as she could from the motionless corpse, horrified, and looked at the blood-stained clearing. So many dead bodies were on the ground and the image made her want to puke. The vast majority of those bodies were those of Clan cats.

Echopaw looked around nervously for Chieftain, Bracken, or Breezepaw, and noticed Moonpaw - wait, _Traya -_ about to pounce on the former Dark Warrior.

Running as fast as she could, she knocked Traya down onto the ground in midair, her head hitting the ground with a loud, hard _thunk._

The dark she-cat's eyes went wild after she saw a few spots of blood leak out from her head.

Apparently, some of the Dark Warriors noticed their loss, and some ran away with terrified shrieks and yowls.

All that Echopaw worried about now was Moonpaw's state of health. Even though she was possessed, she could have fatally injured her best friend...or even _killed_ her.

Bracken rushed to the silver she-cat's side, shouting to Echopaw, "Don't worry, I got her!"

The young she-cat stood there for a few seconds with worry, but ran off to continue to defend the sacred Gathering grounds.

In between combat with another Dark Warrior, a heavy weight was thrusted on her back and pinned her down, with all the sounds she could hear were of screeches of pain and snarling. Echopaw's vision was starting to turn black at the edges as blow after blow was inflicted on her, the pain dulling her senses. _If I die here now, at least I know that I'll die fighting for peace._

The weight was immediately lifted off of her, with Breezepaw desperately shaking the dark she-cat. Echopaw felt the intense pain everywhere, but pushed it aside and stood up weakly, leaning feebly on her lover.

By this time there were a lot less Dark Warriors there, and even Darkness was starting to fall back. Echopaw looked at the sight, confounded in her thoughts. _Why is Darkness retreating? He was the one winning..._

Nevertheless, she was grateful that Flame and StarClan were on her side.

When the last Dark Warrior was out of the Gathering place, there was silence and the gruesome sound of pain and loss. Medicine cats were besieged at every corner for warriors begging to tend to their bloody wounds. Now the purple-dyed she-cat felt sorry for Skypoppy.

Groggily, she lifted her head up. Echopaw's vision was still unfocused, but she could still see okay for the most part.

Finally, a medicine cat - she couldn't tell who it was - rushed to her aid, asking, "Where does it hurt the most?"

Her eyes half closed, all Echopaw could muster was either mumbling or a pained groan.

The medicine cat, eyes sympathetic and full of worry, started working on her wounds that _looked_ the most painful.

After what seemed like forever, the Clans separated from the blood-stained sacred grounds and went back to their territories, not saying a word. The dark she-cat hobbled, wincing in pain the entire way home, and collapsed into her nest as soon as she reached the apprentices' den.

After getting some much needed rest, Echopaw joined Breezepaw at the front of the den, most likely waiting for her. The formerly cheerful and chatty IceClan camp was hushed to a fraction of a whisper, gray-like clouds covering the once sunny sky.

After "eavesdropping" on Clan chatter, the dark she-cat realized that there was an estimated 10-15 deaths from the Clans...and two casualties from the Ecto Bane.

IceClan was lucky - there were only two cats who died, and they were both apprentices.

The apprentices who died were Flamepaw and Dapplepaw. What made Echopaw guilty was that even though Flamepaw bullied her before and treated her like an outcast, he didn't deserve that kind of death. No cat, how cruel and wicked their souls were, are deserving of that way to die.

The purple-eyed she-cat remembered talking to Dapplepaw once, and that wasn't too long ago. She had told Echopaw with great excitement that she had passed her warrior assessment and Snowstar promised her that she would be made a warrior after the Gathering.

But now she would never get that chance.

She and Breezepaw stood in silence next to the frozen river, as it was approaching leaf-bare quickly.

Harestorm approached the two apprentices and told them quietly, "Snowstar would like to see you both in her den."

As they walked closer to the Clan leader's den, Echopaw became more and more nervous, but forced herself to keep her head high and her fear-scent low. She then silently took note to do that whenever she was scared.

Glancing at Breezepaw, the brown tabby tom seemed just as anxious as she was.

"Snowstar." IceClan's leader turned to face them. "Echopaw and Breezepaw are here to see you, just like you asked."

"Thank you, Harestorm," the white she-cat remarked quite coldly, and the deputy gave a curt nod and stepped out.

"I called you two here because..." The anxiety in her head was pulling like a rubber band, about to break. "...I think you're both ready for your warrior ceremony."

The string loosened, and the tension was gone.

"Echopaw, you and Breezepaw have shown great courage in battle and I am proud to name you both warriors...tomorrow. We'll have the ceremony at climbing-sun tomorrow, right after the honors burial for our deceased apprentices during the battle from the Gathering." She quickly turned around. "That is all."

As the two soon-to-be-warriors walked out of the leader's den, Breezepaw flashed her a grin of encouragement and enthusiasm. Echopaw gave him a weak smile back, and the green-eyed tabby tom looked like he had more questions, but he didn't ask.

The real reason beyond her immediate coldness was her mother's impassive nature towards her, and the immense guilt and regret for both Flamepaw and Dapplepaw, who would've probably been made apprentices much sooner than her and Breezepaw if it hadn't been for the battle at the Gathering.

Echopaw and her real mother didn't have a chance to bond together, and she knew that. The young she-cat was kind of relieved that Breezepaw didn't know who her mother was, because that would put on much more stress on the tom's shoulders.

Sitting in silence again and nibbling on a piece of fresh-kill together, Echopaw just had a weird feeling inside of her. She felt like her and Breezepaw were "replacing" both Flamepaw and Dapplepaw. But of course, she didn't have the power to bring the dead back to life, just like any other living normal being in this world, and she brushed off the odd feeling.

The hollow emptiness and loss that she felt would always be there, Echopaw knew, and it would stay there as an invisible scar... _forever._


	3. Twilight

It was near the time of climbing-sun, and Echopaw and Breezepaw stayed solemn as the sorrowful burial for honoring the apprentices killed during the terrible battle that was just only two days ago. The whole camp was even more silent than a mouse's pawsteps, with every head low. Early in the morning, Snowstar had quietly beckoned the Clan cats (except for the queens, the kits, and the severely injured) to the forest and brought them all in what seemed to be like the middle of the forest.

Flowers scattered the opened clearing and there were faint sounds of some cats even _crying_ from the horrendous way that the two apprentices were killed.

The elders, Strikeclaw and Leaftail, both carried the limp bodies of both Flamepaw and Dapplepaw, and at this point Echopaw turned away. She couldn't stand to see one of the cats she was friends with and the cat that used to bully her dead and being put into a ditch in the dirt.

After the two elders brought the two dead apprentices in front of their grave pit, they stepped to the side and the medicine cats, Jaywing and Skypoppy, then came forward.

They carefully lifted the dead bodies by the scruff into the two graves, and quietly put the dirt that was dug back into the holes. The two cats then proceeded to put a flower on top of each grave.

Skypoppy and Jaywing then bowed their heads and mouthed what seemed like a silent prayer to StarClan. Leaftail had told Echopaw that the medicine cats knew a special kind of prayer that was given to StarClan after a young life died, and medicine cats alone were the only ones who knew that kind of prayer.

When they finished their prayer and walked away to stand beside the two elders, Snowstar came forward. "Two nights ago, we were attacked by an evil force known as the Ecto Bane," she began. "After the attack, the number of casualties for the Clans were immensely huge compared to the casualties that were inflicted on our opponents. The mourning we are celebrating today is for the two apprentices that died in this battle that was from our Clan: Flamepaw and Dapplepaw. They were both supposed to be made warriors after the Gathering."

Echopaw's and Breezepaw's heads remained low, and so were many of the rest of the Clan. She noticed that the elders were the ones who were getting really teary.

"Flamepaw was a bold yet determined apprentice. He never gave up, and he was a great asset to the Clan. I know that he would be a great warrior and he would have served our Clan well. Dapplepaw was always kind and gentle, and she always cared for others more than she did for herself. She was very friendly, and her cheerfulness will never be forgotton by this Clan." Snowstar then stepped aside and the entirety of IceClan then bowed their heads in respect for the two deceased apprentices that would never become warriors.

During that moment, Echopaw silently prayed to StarClan. _StarClan, please make sure that these two apprentices will live happy afterlives in your freedom. Even though Flamepaw bullied me, he did a sacrificial act for his Clan, and that is truly honorable and worthy of going to StarClan._

When Echopaw opened her eyes, the moment was over and everyone was slowly and quietly making their way back to the camp, with Snowstar leading them all.

After they were brought back to the camp, the white she-cat jumped onto the ledge that was nearby her den and announced, "Let all cats strong enough to slide down the icy slopes gather underneath the Highridge for a Clan meeting."

As the cats solemnly walked over to the place where the Highridge was, Snowstar meowed sympathetically, "I know you all are hurting from the losses that we have experienced from the past couple of days. However, on a much higher note, we have a warrior ceremony for two apprentices that have worked hard for their goals."

She then looked directly at Echopaw and Breezepaw. "Echopaw, Breezepaw, come forward, please."

The two apprentices came obligingly, their excitement radiating off of them.

Snowstar announced, "Echopaw, Breezepaw, you two have passed your warrior assessments and have fought valiantly against the battle from Darkness two nights ago, and you have served your Clan well. I, Snowstar, leader of IceClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." She first turned to the brown tabby tom. "Breezepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Breezepaw's reply was certain: "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Breezepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Breezenight." The IceClan leader then turned to Echopaw, all eyes on her. "Echopaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Echopaw felt her life flash before her eyes in less than a second. She was truly where she belonged, and even though her entire body was shaking, she replied steadily: "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Echopaw, from this moment on you will be known as Echobreeze." Snowstar then turned to eye both of them. "StarClan honors both of your honor, bravery, and loyalty, and we welcome you both as a full warrior of IceClan."

"Echobreeze! Breezenight! Echobreeze! Breezenight!"

Snowstar then leaped down from the Highridge and went to her den immediately. The two new warriors were then smothered with IceClan cats congratulating them for becoming warriors, and their mentors looked at them proudly.

Echobreeze felt like someone was boring their eyes out at her with disgust, but as she turned around and surveyed all of the cats at the camp there seemed to be nobody there. _Strange._

Breezenight, being the romantic tom he is, brought the dark she-cat on a walk in the forest. "I'm so glad that we're not apprentices anymore!" He lamented as they strolled through, the snow crunching every time their paws made contact with the ground. "No more being treated like a kit, no more putting mouse bile on the elders' ticks, and no more having to hide our feelings for each other!"

Echobreeze felt her face flush for a moment. Sure, apprentices had their crushes, but it wasn't exactly considered "right" or "acceptable" for apprentices to be... _together_ before they were full-fledged warriors. _I hope that Breezenight didn't have that problem with Heatherpaw._

"It's kind of strange, to be honest," the new warrior admitted, her purple eyes (or eye, but he didn't know that) looking in his brilliant green irises. "I remember seven moons ago being a kit that was about to be killed by a dog, and now I'm a warrior with you!"

The brown tabby tom chuckled softly. "True." Echobreeze picked up a nervous air in his scent.

"Bre, are you alright?" She asked affectionately, her head leaning on his shoulder.

He looked down at the she-cat. "Wait, how did you know about my nickname?"

"Moonpaw."

"Obviously," he mumbled sheepishly as Echobreeze laughed at his stupidity.

Breezenight cleared his throat. _It's now or never._ "Echo, you love me, right?"

"Of course, _Bre."_

The green-eyed tabby tom flicked his tail anxiously. "Well, Echo, do you want to make our relationship public?"

She looked up at him. "Breezy, I'm not sure if we should do it _right now._ We just became warriors! Maybe we'll show it publicly soon, but not now."

"I guess," Breezenight mumbled as he turned away.

Echobreeze sighed. "If this is for making up for the Heatherpaw incident, it isn't working," she meowed with a smirk.

"I-I'm sorry, Echo! I really am. I just want you to know that I love you, and I want to be your mate."

Breezenight immediately blushed. They've never really talked about it before, but he didn't want to push Echo too much. Especially after he first got rejected by her as a kit.

"I don't want to push you..." he began, but the dark she-cat interrupted.

"It's fine, Bre," she mewed firmly. "I'd be glad to be your mate, even if we're kind of in the middle of a war."

"I really am an idiot."

"That might be true, Breezy, but we can talk about this another time. We don't want IceClan planning a search party for us."

As they walked back into the IceClan camp, they were greeted by Bracken. "Hey, guys!" He exclaimed cheerily. "Did you finish your _business?"_ Echobreeze's brother implied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Breezenight blushed dark red. "Why is everyone so interested in our love life?" He muttered.

The purple-eyed she-cat cut in. "What's up with you, Bracken? You haven't been this happy in a while."

Bracken looked like an excited, squirming kit. "Moonpaw has been showing signs of waking up soon!" He exclaimed cheerily. "Skypoppy says that she'll escape with some minor injuries, but she's recovering quickly."

Breezenight muttered something along the lines of, "I'm surprised nobody teases you about it," and walked to where Chieftain was training some of the apprentices and warriors.

Bracken didn't seem to hear it from his excitement, and right when Echobreeze was going to quietly slip away from him to not listen to him ranting on how pretty Moonpaw was, a loud, noisy hunting patrol came back - with only a piece of fresh-kill, a white rabbit.

One of the apprentices, Sparrowpaw, and two other warriors came in limping and hissing every time their paws touched the ground. The patrol leader, Bramblebush, came to where Jaywing was and whispered to him urgently. The older medicine cat nodded, and shouted to Skypoppy, "Skypoppy! Get some coltsfoot!"

"Right away," the younger medicine cat mewed as she quickly returned with the herb, chewed it up into a pulp and put it on the suffering Clan cats' paw pads.

Echobreeze was shocked at how dry, cracked, and bloodied the cats' paw pads were as Skypoppy continued to put large amounts of the herb onto their pads.

Harestorm seemed to notice the scene and questioned Bramblebush, to which he replied that he had no idea what happened to the warriors and the apprentice.

Just to make things more chaotic, a sudden choking and yowling came from the elders' den, and terrified shrieks could be heard. Skypoppy quickly told Jaywing, "Go! I'll finish this."

The gray medicine cat immediately ran to the source of the shrieks, with a mouthful of herbs in his jaws.

More and more shrieks and pained yield followed for a few more minutes, and the rest of the Clan stood helplessly there, their eyes shining with sympathy.

At last, the yowls stopped, and there was a bloodcurdling cry that came from the elders' den.

Jaywing finally stepped out, his face distraught, and he choked out,

"Strikeclaw's dead."


	4. Across the Lines

**T/w with some language and sexism, but don't worry, there sHALL BE GENDER EQUALITYYY**

Alder groaned as the wake-up call - a screeching yowl - was blasted around their temporary camp, and older Dark Warriors then first aggressively hit those who were still asleep after the yowl. If the cat still chose to stay asleep, they could even be beaten to death.

 _StarClan help us all._

Luckily, he managed to get up, with every fiber in his body aching and protesting his movements. He came to where the other Dark Warriors were clustered around, waiting for the early morning announcement for Darkness' new advisor, Scarclaw.

Finally, after the last Dark Warrior was awake - with a great amount of bruises and bloody cuts - Scarclaw made the announcement in his cold, emotionless voice.

"Today you are all going to be training in 'battle pairs.' Note that your partner will be sticking with you for a long time, so it's too bad if you hate them. Under Darkness' orders, he assigned each pair to a different job."

At that time, Alder made a silent prayer to StarClan that it wouldn't be under "special training" with Scarclaw. He shuddered inwardly at the bitter memory.

When Scarclaw assigned Cloud, one of the other younger Dark Warriors, to "special training," Alder thanked StarClan a thousand times over.

Scarclaw finally droned onto his name. "Alder, you're with... _the new cat."_ The young Dark Warrior swore that he could hear a hint of mockery in his tone. StarClan, Scarclaw hated him. _I guess Darkness is still mad at me letting Echo and the others get away._ If anyone was paired with the "new cat," it would severely damage their reputation. The new cat was a she-cat, and she-cats were really looked down in the Ecto Bane. "You and her are going to go on a spy mission. Don't mess up."

The she-cat approached Alder with an unfriendly glare in her auburn colored eyes. He smiled at her nervously, and she immediately stepped on his paw. _Hard._

"Ow!" He hissed. "What was _that_ for?!" The young ginger tom demanded angrily, but then realized he was talking to a Dark Warrior.

"Listen up, _squirt,"_ she meowed sharply. "I know you don't want to be with me as much as I do, but if you don't get in my way or do something stupid, all will be fine. Understand?"

Well, she was one to talk. She was the _new cat,_ for StarClan's sake! But there was something about her that made Alder both fear and respect her. Keeping his trap shut, he silently nodded.

"Good." She whipped around furiously, leading him to where they were nearest at: IceClan.

Alder paled behind his mask. If Echo or Breezepaw were to figure out that he was here, his "forced partner" would report him to Scarclaw and he would be executed.

As they snuck behind the crags that made up the rocky mountains, Alder began to feel a pang of sympathy for his partner. She was prejudiced because she was simply a _she-cat._

As they looked over the activity of the Clan, which looked like they were mourning over the loss of a Clan cat, Alder mustered up the courage to talk to her.

"Look, I think we've started off on the wrong paw," The ginger tom admitted, and she immediately whipped her head to glare at him. "I know it seems like I act like a piece of fox dung, but I just want to say I know how you feel." She continued to stare at him intently.

"Well, to be different and looked down upon," he continued awkwardly. "I'm honestly and truly sorry that you have to go through this."

Her gaze was unreadable, but she obviously was paying attention to what he said. "I...was thinking we could be friends. I'm Alder, by the way. You probably know that, though."

The she-cat looked at him intensely, her auburn eyes still staring into his. "I don't want to be the one that's rude, but I barely even know you. Also, _Alder,_ we have a job to do."

Alder sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Later, as they finished spying on the IceClan territory, Alder swore that the territory started to get greener and with less and less snow. _This is the weirdest phenomenon I've ever seen..._

He smelled something behind them, and a fox snarled at them, smirking wickedly.

"Fox dung!" the she-cat spat angrily, and they went into the traditional Dark Warrior fighting stance.

Aggressively attacking, the two cats mercilessly tore and bit at the fox until they heard it yelp, "Surrender! Please!"

However, according to Dark Warrior protocol, you had to always kill the enemy. Alder was about to make the killing blow, but his conscience stopped him. He froze in place. His partner noticed this and she immediately killed the fox in one swift motion.

"What was _that,_ Alder?!" the auburn-eyed she-cat snarled at him after having the fox meet its demise. "If any patrol saw, we would be punished for what YOU did."

Alder sighed, hanging his head low. "I just can't bring myself to kill someone who begs for surrender - or is obviously innocent." He winced, waiting for his partner to chastise him or even hit him.

Surprisingly, her eyes softened. "I understand, Alder. Sometimes I lie awake with my guilty conscience and wonder, 'Why have I done this?' But for the sake of both of our skins making it out _alive,_ we have to do our part. Even if it means to kill."

"I know," the young Dark Warrior admitted, and they continued on with their patrol.

Before they went to spy on LightningClan territory, she turned to him. "Lily."

Her voice caught him off guard for a moment, and Alder just looked at her with confusion.

"My name's Lily. And thanks, mousebrain," she added with a halfhearted smile as they snuck to the forest part of the Clan grounds.

It wasn't exactly the best start, but it would do.

~•~

"Oh, look! The kit and the newest piece of fox dung!"

The Dark Warriors burst out with laughter as Alder and Lily walked into the camp. Talon, one of the older Dark Warriors, came up to them. "I feel sorry for you, Alder. Darkness must _really_ hate you!" he exclaimed.

Alder looked at his partner. Lily was flicking her tail angrily, eyes burning with hate.

Another Dark Warrior, Crag, yowled, "Aww! Does the little lady need a tom to help her?!"

Mocking laughter filled the camp, and Alder felt anger in himself. _Why is the Ecto Bane against she-cats?! They didn't do anything wrong!_

The tom walked past the jeering Dark Warriors, and ran into his only childhood friend. Everest. "StarClan, Alder! I heard that Scarclaw partnered you with the new she-cat, but I didn't believe it until now!" Everest leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "I'm not too surprised though. She's nothing much besides a smelly _whore."_

A fiery surge of anger came from Alder, and in the heat of the moment he unsheathed his claws and aimed a deep blow to Everest's face. "Never, _ever_ call my partner a whore again, or you're going to regret it," Alder snapped.

His former friend was left on the ground with shocked, pained expression left on his face, blood dripping from the scratch that would most likely leave a permanent scar.

After walking as far away from the bleeding tom, Scarclaw approached the two young Dark Warriors and snarled coldly, "Come with me."

They headed to a dense thicket which served as his "office." Turning to Alder with an accusing eye, he hissed, "A patrol reported that you hesitated while killing the fox, _Alder."_

 _Fox dung!_ Alder thought frantically.

"Your lowly _partner_ had to do it for you," he continued, his normally emotionless, beady eyes gleaming with anger. "Alder, you know the punishment."

 _A deep bite on the right shoulder. I know._

The young Dark Warrior lost count of how many times he received the punishment. There was an obvious scar where the bitten area was, and sometimes he had problems with his shoulder. But he kept on reminding himself that one day he would be able to not worry about it anymore, and that would be the day in which Darkness would be stripped of his powers. _One day._

As Alder bowed his head, ready to receive the punishment, Lily's voice stopped Scarclaw.

"Wait! I-I'll accept the punishment for Alder," she stammered, compassion showing for him in her amber eyes.

Scarclaw smirked evilly. "Definitely a surprise, but never unwelcomed."

Lily kept her head high, and her eyes hardened as Scarclaw bit down hard. The blood from her wound trickled down to her leg quickly, but Lily made no complaint or sound of pain.

"And Alder," Scarclaw added before they left, "I'll make sure in the next moon you and your partner will have some special training with me."

When Scarclaw dismissed them, Lily had a slight limp and the blood from her wound was still running a little, but the wound was clotting and slowly but surely, Lily ended up walking almost completely normal in a matter of seconds.

As they walked back to the resting quarters, Lily stopped him abruptly. "You know, Alder...that time earlier, you didn't have to do that," she admitted. "I can handle myself. I don't need a tom's help."

Alder shook his head. "Lily, my old friend, Everest, called you a _whore._ Anyone who talks like that about a she-cat should just go to the Place of No Stars for all I care. And for StarClan's sake, you just took my punishment and you're hurt!"

The she-cat rolled her eyes. "It was nothing, really. You've been so kind to me unlike everyone else here, and I felt like you didn't deserve that punishment anyway."

There was a pause before Lily spoke again.

"Everest called me a whore, right?" Lily added. The young tom nodded. "I would've killed him."

Alder laughed. _Everest probably did deserve it._

"By the way, Alder..." the amber-eyed she-cat continued thoughtfully, and the tom perked up his ears hopefully.

"...we should go to sleep early tonight. Battle practice is before dawn tomorrow, and I heard the winner gets to eat first - _and_ get as much food as they want."

"You're on," Alder meowed determinedly.

The next day, Alder ended up going hungry, but he realized one thing:

This time, he found a _real_ friend.


	5. The Plague That Caused Chaos

Another long, somber funeral took place the following day for Strikeclaw, and Echobreeze felt the familiar emptiness inside. _Where's Flame and StarClan? They should be watching over us and protecting the Clans, not killing off each Clan member one by one!_

With the funeral ended and the cats then relaxing quietly inside the camp, the dark she-cat rested her head on her mate's shoulder. "With so many losses in our Clan, there really should be more kits arriving soon."

Breezenight's face burned intensely as he turned to stare nervously at his mate. "Um, what do you mean?" he stuttered, mortified.

"I'm just surprised that there's no announcements about any new kits yet," Echobreeze admitted.

The tom was turning redder and redder by the second. _She can't possibly want kits now...right? We just became warriors!_

Apparently, the purple-eyed she-cat just realized what she had said. "Well, f-for the other warriors h-here," she stammered.

Breezenight let go of a sigh of relief. They were just too young to have kits now. He wasn't ready himself - at all.

Echobreeze overheard the green-eyed tom's sigh of relief and narrowed her eyes coldly at him. "Why, Breezenight?" She asked, a tinge of annoyance in her tone. "Do you not _want_ kits?"

He swallowed nervously. _Oh no, she used my full name._ "It's not that, Echo," he mewed quietly. "I don't know anything about parenting, especially with my parents..." he young warrior trailed off. He couldn't say anything else about the subject.

His mate's eyes were filled with sympathy. _StarClan, she's so beautiful._ "Breezy, I understand. I'm afraid of that too. But we'll learn together."

The tom let out a small grin. "Thanks, Echo. But can we talk about this another time? You're making it seem like we're actually going to _have_ kits.

Echobreeze laughed. "Of course, mousebrain," she murmured teasingly.

~•~

"I'm telling you, it's the return of the Shadow Plague!" Leaftail, now the only elder, protested to some warriors of the Clan. "I witnessed Strikeclaw's death - and it looked like he was gasping for air! It must be!"

The warriors gasped with shock and dead, while Bracken sat in the crowd with confusion.

"Leaftail, what _is_ the Shadow Plague?" the young tom inquired respectfully. The elder turned to look at him. "Why, of course you wouldn't know, Tribe kit!" she exclaimed. "The Shadow Plague was this deadly sickness that ravaged our ancestral Clans almost a thousand moons ago! You can die in as little as a few days, it was that bad!"

 _Clan mythology states that the sickness was known as the Shadow Plague because of the possibility that Darkness has been released from his prison after thousands of years. Many cats believed that Darkness created the Shadow Plague as a sign of revenge. Little did they know that they were right._

 _The ancestral Clans were utterly devastated, and there were only four cats who survived the wrath of the Shadow Plague: Icewind, Nightgaze, Swiftleap, and Lightningpaw._

 _They agreed to form a pact and to rebuild the Clans; to help each other in times of urgent need, and to begin a new era for future generations to prosper without the Shadow Plague._

 _The four cats drew their boundaries for their new Clans, and so it came to be IceClan, NightClan, SwiftClan, and LightningClan._

 _Swiftleap, a medicine cat, had found the cure around two moons before and passed the story to the other Three, who in turn passed it down to their own Clans. Swiftleap didn't have a reason why she named the plant caliberry, however. It all remains a mystery._

 _Icewind and Nightgaze happened to both be warriors and mates from the same ancestral Clan. They helped to recruit many rogues, loners, and kittypets to the Clans and even had kits of their own._

 _Much is disagreed on Lightningpaw. Some argue that he wasn't an apprentice, he was indeed a warrior, and his name was Lightningfall. However, the four paw prints that where the ancestral leaders placed their marking in each of their territories at what is now the Gatheringplace - Lightningpaw's paw print was much smaller, which lead to wide speculation. Though he may be underestimated, he contributed in leading bravely as a leader when there was the Great Flood five moons later, and he also was the cat who first discovered the Moonrock._

 _The Shadow Plague has not returned since the rebirth of the Clans. However, many cats wait, wonder, and worry if and when Darkness will strike again._

"Is there a cure?" one of the younger warriors, Shallowfall, questioned.

"Yes, but the only place it could possibly grow in a near proximity to us is in NightClan," Leaftail responded. "It's called caliberry, and it has these blue-violet leaves surrounding the white flower. It's so rare that it's nearly impossible to get."

The elder spoke out again. "This is why, IceClan, that we must quarantine those who are infected, before we _all_ die!" she yowled.

Some of the warriors gathered there began to nod their heads in agreement.

"If the contaminated cats won't go, IceClan will only be history!"

"We need to save ourselves!"

"If the Shadow Plague is as harmful as it seems, we need to do everything in our power to make sure that no other cat gets sick!"

"How in the name of StarClan could we find caliberry in _NightClan_ territory?!"

The cries then lead to an immediate uproar, with clamoring warriors trying to reach Snowstar first, demanding that anyone who showed signs of infection _must_ go.

Bracken saw a lithe, white shape dodge and push through the protesting cats. The shape then desparately scrambled up to the top of the Highridge where the Clan meetings were held, and cried out:

"Let all cats strong enough to slide down the icy slopes gather underneath the Highridge for a Clan meeting!"

The cats continued to yowl in protest as the rest of IceClan joined the meeting.

"Calm down!" Snowstar snapped, her tail twitching irritably. When the crowd was finally hushed to angry whispers, she continued. "I know there's a rumor going around that the Shadow Plague has returned, and I fear that, too. But there shouldn't be any mass riots happening any time soon from now on. Our medicine cats will go and check each and every one of the cats who lives here for symptoms of the Shadow Plague. For now, calm yourselves."

"What will happen if someone happens to be infected?" one of the warriors in the riot, Poppypool, questioned.

More of the warriors that was in the riot nodded, protesting angrily for IceClan's safety.

The IceClan leader sighed. "At this point, I don't know. Harestorm and I will have to figure it out...but with this situation, we may have to quarantine any cats that show signs of infection."

The warriors that were in the riot and Leaftail cheered, but some cats looked on in horror. _To be honest, isolating sick cats from the rest of the Clans seems a little harsh,_ Bracken thought. It seemed like quite a few cats looked like they were thinking the same way.

Snowstar dismissed the meeting and walked back into her den wearily, with Harestorm following her.

Bracken felt only sympathy toward the IceClan leader. _I guess this is how Sky feels,_ he mused to himself.

 **(A/N IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHO SKY IS HE IS THE LEADER OF THE TRIBE OF INFINITE KNOWLEDGE)**

Then, suddenly, an idea popped in his head. He remembered how Darkness has told his sister that he was her father...so was Darkness his father as well?

His mind blanked out for a minute. _Or is Echo...not really my sister? And is Leaf even my mother?_

Bracken remembered when he was younger he asked River if he had any siblings. He had said _yes, her name was Echo, and she died young._

Was his whole life a lie? Probably.

But then there was Moonpaw. The pretty, bubbly, snarky she-cat that always made him laugh. At least _she_ was real. At least Bracken could count on her.

Echo was there for him, too, but her thoughts and time were mostly occupied with Breezenight and saving the Clans. He didn't mind, but still...

He missed Echo. He missed _and_ wanted Moonpaw even more.

 _I should visit her!_ the tawny-furred tom thought excitedly, and he bounded over to the now dangerously crowded medicine den. With Snowstar ordering that everyone had to be checked for symptoms of the Shadow Plague, Jaywing and Skypoppy were sure to be exhausted by the time the day was over.

He began to approach the spot where Moonpaw would normally be, but now she was awake, aggressively snarling hate comments in another language he didn't understand with four warriors guarding her.

The young green-eyed tom was about to say hi to Moonpaw, and to say that he was excited that she was finally awake, but one of the warriors stopped him.

"Sorry, Bracken, but it's best if you don't go near Moonpaw right now," Riverclaw meowed warningly. When the IceClan warrior noticed the happy expression on the younger tom's face fall, he added, "I know you want to see her, but apparently she's possessed by a spirit and she's not exactly the happiest."

Bracken knew that she was possessed - however, he thought after Echo had hit Moonpaw in the head and knocked her out the blow would be strong enough to drive the spirit out of her.

"Just between you and me, though..." Riverclaw looked both ways before continuing, "...I heard that Chieftain knows this ritual that will somehow de-possess her. He's planning to do it around a quarter moon from now."

The tawny-furred tom's frown merged into a small smile, before thanking the older warrior and then leaving, his spirits raised again.

~•~

A quarter-moon later, Jaywing and Skypoppy were leaving to go to their monthly trip to the Moonrock. Echobreeze watched them depart from IceClan, and she saw the faint outlines of the other medicine cats waiting for them at the border.

Dusk was rapidly approaching, and the night sky was slowly but surely starting to become darker. Skypoppy looked nervously at the rest of the medicine cats. They, too, were weary and afraid, since it only was a half-moon since the Ecto Bane attacked the four Clans at the Gathering.

Unfortunately for LightningClan, they lost their only medicine cat, Gorsespots, in the battle. It seemed like they hurriedly chose a cat who would best fit the qualities of a medicine cat, and that cat seemed to be Cedarpaw, who was originally training to be a warrior.

Cedarpaw looked even more nervous than the rest of the medicine cats present. The dark brown tabby tom looked also a little...upset. _Probably because he would have to have his medicine cat ceremony soon, and he probably really wanted to become a warrior instead of a medicine cat._ Skypoppy was sympathetic to the young medicine cat. _He's got the entire weight of his Clan on his shoulders to worry about._

Skypoppy managed a small "hi" to Lilypaw, Cypressflight's apprentice. She smiled and her expression was filled with excitement as they walked alongside the rocky gorge that led to the Moonrock.

"Cypressflight says I'm ready to receive my medicine cat name tonight," the cream-colored she-cat announced cheerily.

"That's great!" Skypoppy purred, pleased. "I doubt Jaywing would let me have an apprentice, though. He always treats me like a kit," the silver-and-white she-cat lamented to the SwiftClan medicine cat.

Lilypaw was doing her best to stifle a giggle, since Jaywing happened to be talking to Badgerfall nearby.

When the small group of medicine cats finally reached the end of the gorge, the Moonrock glowing brightly in their presence, they gathered around the Moonrock and waited for Cypressflight to start Lilypaw's ceremony.

"As you all know, Lilypaw is going to be welcomed as a full-fledged medicine cat tonight. I believe she will go on to accomplish great things, save many lives, and maybe even find an easier cure to find for the Shadow Plague.

"I, Cypressflight, medicine cat of SwiftClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons."

She then turned to Lilypaw, pride sparkling in the older medicine cat's eyes. "Lilypaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

Lilypaw's reply was firm, despite that moments ago she was quivering and bouncing around with the intense feeling of euphoria. "I do."

Skypoppy smiled as Cypressflight concluded the ceremony. "Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Lilypaw, from this moment you will be known as Lilycloud. StarClan honors your bravery, kindness, and quick thinking, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of SwiftClan."

Continuing the traditional ritual, Cypressflight rested her muzzle on Lilycloud's head, and in turn the new full-fledged medicine cat licked her mentor's shoulder.

The formerly quiet atmosphere evolved into a loud, prideful outcry of Lilycloud's new name.

"Lilycloud! Lilycloud! Lilycloud!"

The medicine cats congratulated her, and Jaywing even gave her a teasing lecture on to not confuse deathberries with other berries.

"Congratulations, Lilycloud," Skypoppy murmured to her friend. "I got to get used on saying that."

"You'll have to," the cream-colored cat responded with a grin.

"Let us now communicate with our ancestors in StarClan," Badgerfall announced when the congratulating toward Lilycloud finally subsided.

Skypoppy touched her nose to the familiar, cool rock, and calmly closed her eyes. _Send us a message in this dire time, StarClan._

 _When she opened her eyes, a harsh greeting of cold air enveloped her and sent a chill on the IceClan medicine cat's spine. All she saw was darkness and a faint outline of a cat._

 _"Welcome to the Place of No Stars," the cat greeted coldly, a sinister grin plastered onto his face._

 _Skypoppy couldn't tell_ who _the cat was or_ why _she was here instead of StarClan, but her instincts screamed at her to run._

 _She ran aimlessly in the dark, fear surrounding her and then suffocating her into a cold embrace..._

Skypoppy jolted awake with fear, and looked around sharply. _Still the same, welcoming place._ She let out a sigh of relief. She was still at the Moonrock.

The silver she-cat was puzzled on why she didn't see StarClan, and as the rest of the medicine cats woke up, they looked just as confused as she was. Lilycloud ran to her.

"Skypoppy, did you see anything? All I saw was darkness," Lilycloud mewed with a shudder.

The IceClan medicine cat shook her head. Even though she saw _something,_ it was best if she didn't share the nightmare with anyone.

Jaywing spoke to the confused and frightened medicine cats. "I know that none of you saw StarClan. To be honest, I'm scared too. But don't panic; just report to your Clan leaders what you've seen."

The medicine cats mumbled an awkward goodbye to each other and they separated. Skypoppy walked quietly back to camp and questioned Jaywing. "Should we alert Snowstar?"

Jaywing nodded his consent, and the silver-and-white she-cat followed her mentor. She watched Jaywing take a deep breath before approaching Snowstar, who looked really tired, but was still avidly listening. "Snowstar, we have something to say."

"What is it?" she asked, concerned.

Skypoppy told the IceClan leader the words that she was dreading to hear all night.

"Snowstar...StarClan hasn't shown us any sign. The dreams we had tonight at the Moonrock was simply darkness."


	6. Poltergeist

_Voices..._

Bracken felt his ancestors and the Tribe calling him back to his other home. He heard it when he was awake, when he was asleep...he heard them everywhere. The voices interrupted his thoughts, manipulated him...

 _Bracken..._

The tawny-furred tom shook his head violently, speed walking out of the warriors' den where Snowstar had generously offered him to sleep during his temporary stay.

 _We need you...the Tribe needs you..._

He sensed a cat brushing lightly past him, and frantically turning, saw no one. "No," he retorted harshly. "You don't need me. There's plenty of able-bodied warriors to solve your problems."

 _Bracken...you must leave. You and the other younglings of the Tribe were chosen..._

"Oh, _chosen?"_ Bracken laughed sarcastically. "I'm not sure if you realized, but I'm perfectly happy staying with the Clans with my friends and family."

 _You must let go of your loved ones, young one. They're only holding you back._

"No, they're not!" The young tom snarled angrily at the invisible, spirit-like voices. "As if you would know anything. My life has been a mess until I found them."

One of the voices began to take form of the outline of a cat. Bracken's eyes widened, shocked.

"M-mom?"

Her blue eyes were filled with sympathy and remorse at the sight of him.

 _Bracken, my dear, waiting for her won't solve your problems. The entire world is at stake, not just her. You have to let go._

"I'm not going to let go of her after all this time!" Bracken yowled furiously, digging into the thin layer of snow with his sharp claws.

An invisible force knocked the tom into the cold embrace the snow brought, and a harsh snarl then rang in his ear.

 _You, Bracken, are loyal to the Tribe. When the Tribe is in need, you must serve. You can't pine over a she-cat who isn't even in the Tribe, not to add that she is unconscious, and she won't return your feelings._

Bracken watched the spirit merge into a strong, threatening warrior of the Tribe. His eyes were ambitious, cold, and filled with fury.

"If I go back, I will probably never see her again," he whispered, tears streaming down his face.

 _That is why, Bracken, you must let go. For the sake of everyone and your future as well, you have to._

His mind conjured an image of the pretty silver she-cat smiling cheerily at him. Bracken let out the breath he never knew he was holding.

"I-I'm sorry, Moonpaw," he mewed sorrowfully. He felt the image break down and fade, and he felt that once happy, buzzing feeling melt away in his heart. The feeling was still there, but it was eroding slowly.

 _We will watch over you, Bracken._

The presence of the spirits left his senses, leaving his mind disheveled and his heart shattered.

"Bracken!" his sister's familiar voice came to his ears. Plastering a fake smile, he turned around and mewed, "Hey, Echo."

Echobreeze seemed brighter than normal, her face glowing with excitement. "I've got some great news!" she mewed ecstatically. "Chieftain's performing the ceremony at climbing-sun. We have to meet up at the forest."

"That's great," Bracken grinned through clenched teeth. As his twin sister bounded to the opposite side of the camp, beckoning him to follow her, he looked back at where his ancestors had stood moments before.

A pair of eyes glanced at him before vanishing.

~•~

Echobreeze and Breezenight were with an anxious Bracken, who repeatedly paced in circles. Right now, the three of them were waiting for Chieftain to join them, along with the still-possessed Moonpaw. In the distance, the former Dark Warrior was talking to Snowstar about something.

Along with pacing, her brother was muttering almost completely inaudible words to himself. _Almost._

"Please make sure she's okay, please make sure she's okay, please..." the tawny-furred tom prayed. "Make sure Moonpaw recovers before I-"

"We are back," Chieftain announced, with a drowsy Moonpaw trailing behind him. "Let's go."

"A-are you guys the floating green mice in the trees?" Moonpaw slurred, her footsteps wobbly and her eyes half-closed.

Breezenight cocked an inquisitive eyebrow as they walked to the cave. "Did Jaywing drug her with something?"

Chieftain nodded with amusement as the silver she-cat continued to ramble over grass was much tastier than bark, while Breezenight just rolled his eyes at his cousin's garbled babbling.

Bracken still looked worried and frazzled, and her brother constantly looked Moonpaw's way to check if she seemed fine. However, there was nothing Echobreeze could do to help her brother. He was just hopelessly in love, pining for Breezenight's cousin. _Let's just hope his crush won't cloud up his judgement._

Cheiftain led the group of five to the vast mouth of a cave in the middle of the vast pine forest. Its stony, gray, smooth surface was unlike the normally rocky, mountainous territory IceClan was in. Still, the black expanse of nothingness made her feel a hint of unease.

"This kind of ritual was performed below the surface and in low light. We must go deep enough in the cave to be able to successfully finish," Chieftain meowed.

Bracken looked frightened at having to go into the cave, his antsy body language showing nothing but fear and worry.

When they were about to enter the cave, Bracken stood still, his ears flattening. "Um, you know what? I'll wait outside...here."

Chieftain, Echobreeze, and Breezenight all exchanged concern glances. Breezenight stepped up. "Chieftain, you and Echo can go. I'll stay with Bracken."

"We'll be back," the dark she-cat reassured the two toms, and she followed Chieftain and a drugged Moonpaw down into the depths of the unfamiliar cave.

Her eyes adjusting to the low light levels, Echobreeze looked around warily, looking for any signs of movement besides her own, along with Chieftain's and Moonpaw's.

A huge, abrupt _Crash!_ came from up ahead, and the warrior hissed, flinching from the loud noise.

"Don't worry, Echo," Chieftain chuckled. "It was just Moonpaw."

On their journey to the cave, Moonpaw seemed to be too drugged to talk anymore and remained silent, becoming clumsier with every pawstep.

Echobreeze let out a sigh of relief, but she kept her guard up and her senses sharp as they continued to descend lower and lower into the cave, until she heard Chieftain's pawsteps come to a direct halt.

"We are deep enough to commence the ritual. The _zriksha_ are telling me the instructions."

She noticed the former Dark Warrior's glowing eyes briefly shut before reopening again. "First, we must draw a circle around her," Chieftain explained. "The circle is the boundary in which anyone who steps on it will be affected."

After the circle was drawn around the afflicted Moonpaw, Chieftain began the ritual:

 _"O zriksha, ritzii mast norsop mist shanam!"_

An unusual chill went down Echobreeze's spine as she watched Moonpaw's body levitate off the ground. Slightly unnerved, she took a couple pawsteps back.

 _"Kishi mats jolon hasta iz fornon maal nos, wilkna mist nawan!"_

Moonpaw's eyes shot open to reveal an ominous glowing purple. An sinister laugh echoed inside the cave.

 _"Larka non shalliz haa uznon qua oxno, O zriksha!"_

The malicious laughing shifted into a desperate cry. "No!" the voice snarled. "You cannot defeat _me._ You cannot get rid of me either!"

Chieftain continued to chant louder.

 _"Moisnon shasa oli porono wasa un elit!"_

"No!" the voice cried frantically. A blinding light forced Echobreeze to turn away.

 _"Vriksa..."_

"No!"

 _"Mirksha..."_

"NO!"

 _"Unam!"_

The last few seconds of the exorcism were filled with an intense energy around Moonpaw's body, and an immense force striking the ground.

After a long period of silence, Echobreeze opened her eyes. After her vision cleared from the exposure from the bright light, all she saw was Moonpaw's body still lying in the circle, as if her entire life force was taken out of her.

"Moonpaw!" the other she-cat cried out, and she rushed to her friend's side.

As she looked closer, squinting in the dim light, she noticed Moonpaw's chest slowly and faintly moving. Echobreeze slowly exhaled. _Thank StarClan._

Moonpaw's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her gaze darted to the purple-eyed she-cat standing before her. "E-Echopaw?" she mumbled before closing her eyes again.

 _No, she can't be dead, right?_ Echobreeze thought fearfully. _She can't be dead! She's part of the prophecy!_

"Echo, don't worry," Chieftain's voice came behind her. "She's simply unconscious. She will probably be in this state for a couple more days. After that, she will be able to resume her apprenticeship."

For a moment, all of the dark she-cat's worries and doubts crumbled, and she cried into the former Dark Warrior's shoulder.

"Th-thank you," she hiccuped. "Thank you f-for bringing her b-back."

~•~

"Moonlight! Moonlight!"

A lot happened in the next moon and a half. During that time, Moonlight had woken up back to her regular self for the first time in almost seven moons now, finished the rest of her apprentice training, and became a warrior. Echobreeze's and Breezenight's relationship had became closer and stronger than ever now that Moonlight was back. Chieftain was also appointed by Snowstar to leave next moon to teach the other Clans about the Ecto Bane's fighting techniques.

Still, despite the happy turn of events that had recently taken place, Darkness's threat was still a great problem the Clans faced. Luckily, the Ecto Bane had not attacked IceClan. Also, some cats from IceClan who were thought to have symptoms of the Shadow Plague were temporarily "exiled" to the forest beyond the Moonrock.

Bracken had become more and more distant since Moonlight woke up. He seemed closed-minded and aloof, now always found muttering to himself alone in a shady corner of the IceClan camp.

However, Bracken surprisingly didn't show any symptoms of his current state, shyly congratulating Moonlight for finally receiving her warrior name after she was possessed for seven moons.

The new warrior rushed over to where Echobreeze and Breezenight were standing together. "I can't believe we're all warriors now!" Moonlight squealed with joy like a young kit. She hugged the couple in a tight embrace.

"I'm happy too, Moony, but don't suffocate us!" the tabby tom laughed as Moonlight reluctantly let go.

The silver she-cat grinned. "Well, now that I'm a warrior, fill me in with the rest of the drama that's going on!"

Echobreeze playfully rolled her eyes. To finish as fast as she could, Moonlight went under a more intensive apprentice training regime than normal. For that month and a half, all she did was eat, sleep, and train. She barely even managed to say a quick "hello" for most of her training. Her mentor, Pineheart, was a tom with a kind in his intentions but was firm in training sessions.

Breezenight glanced at the dark she-cat, implicating, _Should we tell her?_

Echobreeze hesitated, since Moonlight would overreact, but slowly nodded.

"Moonlight, we have something to say," Echobreeze mewed quietly. "We're mates now."

The newly made warrior gasped with delight. "Oh my StarClan! I knew this was going to happen!" she squeaked, ecstatic. "This is definitely the best day ever! Echo, you're my..." she looked thoughtful for a moment, "cousin-in-law!"

The purple-eyed she-cat smiled bashfully while leaning on her mate's shoulder, and Breezenight blushed.

Moonlight's eyes shone like two shiny pebbles in the river. "Honestly, you two are the purest couple ever. I wish there was a tom out there for me..." she admitted, sighing wistfully.

"Well, just to your luck, my brother's got a thing for you," Echobreeze meowed, smirking. "Maybe you two should have a little talk..."

"I don't really know," Moonlight confessed. "I really do like him, but he's not even part of IceClan. Heck, I don't even know if he's going to _stay."_

"Well, just think about it," Breezenight chimed in. "Your soulmate's somewhere out there, Moony. Just don't rush into things."

Unfortunately, Moonlight would do something later on that would go against her cousin's advice. Something _terrible._


End file.
